Alice Friday - Assistant Teacher 2014/15

Freitag, den 17. April 2015
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We had the pleasure to talk with Alice Friday, a student from Manchester who keeps visiting us in our English lessons. It was a nice conversation and we were able to gather a lot of information about her stay in Austria.

Q: Have you been in Austria before?A: Actually I was skiing with my school in Tirol a few times. It was a really great experience and I loved to be there with my friends.

Q: Then why did you choose Steyr as your destination? A: I didn't actually choose Steyr. My university chose it for me. Basically when you apply to do this program you are allowed to choose three places and my first choice was Tirol. I didn't really know anywhere else to go so I just searched other places in Austria and ended up picking Oberösterreich.

Q: Did you come alone? A: No, I didn't. Some of my friends are also staying in Austria, through they live in other cities.

Q: So where are you staying during your visit? A: I'm staying at a student accommodation which is really great. I meet a lot of young people, I have my own private space and there's also a communal kitchen.

Q: Then what was the biggest shock when you first came to Austria? A: I do most of my shopping on Sunday so I was quite surprised that the shops don't open in Austria. Also I was really shocked when I learned that your school already starts at 7.40 am while ours starts around 9 am. But it isn't that bad, because you get the afternoons free.

Q: Come to think of it, we never really talked about what you study. A: I study French and German at my university but I don't speak much German at all. We have to read a lot of French and German literature, so most of the time we stay in the library reading books about books so we can write essays and texts like that.

Q: What are you doing when you're free in Austria? A: I visit my friends and travel to Linz quite often but I also go to other places so I'm away for almost every weekend. Of course I also did hiking at the Kalkalpen and visited some other spots around the region.

Q: Did you participate in some festival or activities in Steyr? A: Not really. I was at the Christmas market, which was really nice with all the little shops but that feels like it was ages ago.

Q: What are the great differences between Austria and the UK in your opinion? A: I get this question quite a lot but I really struggle with this because I don't really know. Of course, the biggest difference is the language but there are many different types of shops and our school-systems differ too.

Q: What do you think about our holidays here? How do they differ to the ones in the UK? A: Your holidays are way shorter than ours but you have a lot more random days off. We also don't have a real day off for workers. It's very lively all week long.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your family? A: I have a brother and a sister who already live on their own and a dog which was a puppy when I left so she should be big by now.

Q: Did you like it here so far? A: Yeah, I liked it a lot. The people around here are welcoming me and the mountains are really beautiful.